Hey Triple B, your resident newlywed L’Oreal is back with her third Triple B post. Like many of you she’s trying to juggle her relationship as a newlywed, manage a flourishing career, maintain a social life and more. (Whew!) Here’s how she’s balancing it all (or not)…

Shortly after Jeff and I said, “I do,” I left my full-time journalism position and started a new career in corporate communications. I’m earning a higher salary and I have a more stable schedule, which are both big wins. However, I quickly filled up my newfound free time with more freelance writing projects and volunteering. They say an idle mind is a devil’s playground, but it’s possible I went overboard.

In my quest for world domination to establish my brand as a freelance writer/blogger and pursue my passion of mentoring young girls, I feel like I may have been slacking in the “wife” department. While I don’t currently have any aspirations of becoming a housewife or stay-at-home mom (not that there’s anything wrong with that–to each her own, it’s just not for me), I don’t want to become an absentee partner either.

A quick glance at my weekly schedule is evidence that I may have taken on too much. Between volunteering (with three different organizations), freelancing (for several publications) and working on my fitness (two-three nights a week), Date Night had all but disappeared from my Gmail calendar.

If I’m “too busy” as a newlywed, exactly what can I expect to happen when we eventually have children? While parenting is still a ways off in the future, I don’t want to get into the habit of putting work before our family. To Jeff’s credit, he’s extremely patient and supportive. He baked cupcakes for my Girl Scouts troop when I was on deadline for an article and he’s the one who usually cooks dinner because 1) he gets home before I do and 2) he’s better at it than me (although I’m learning, I swear!).

My point is is I couldn’t have asked for a more caring, understanding and encouraging partner. But I don’t ever want him to feel like I’m take him for granted or like he’s just another item on my ever growing checklist. The reality is I’m not single anymore. I can’t burn the midnight oil hashing out my latest article every night. I can’t spend every weekend volunteering or every night at the gym. And I can’t eat Frosted Cheerios for dinner (or can I?). All jokes aside, a successful marriage requires face time and I’m not talking about the Apple kind.

So if I’m being honest with myself, I need to scale back on some activities and reevaluate my priorities. Try as I might, I’m not Superwoman and I can’t singlehandedly save the world. I can’t keep giving so much of myself to everyone else that I have nothing left to give my husband. It’s not fair to him or our marriage. Now we’re making a valiant effort to reinstitute and prioritize Date Night. I have a self-imposed cutoff time for working on my side hustle. And, going forward, I won’t volunteer for every organization under the sun. Although there’s no such thing as “perfect” work/life balance (we’re human, after all), there’s no harm in aiming for a little more balance and a lot more love.

How are you finding your work, love and life balance? Let me know in the comments!

An aspiring Disney princess, L’Oreal Thompson Payton said “I do” to her Prince Charming in November 2014. When she’s not busy writing, L’Oreal enjoys reading, dancing to Beyoncé and devouring delicious cupcakes. Follow more of her newlywed and everyday adventures on Instagram and her blog, LTintheCity.com.